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President Joe Biden landed in Florida on Saturday to survey damage caused by Hurricane Idalia and comfort people affected by the storm, but he will not be meeting Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential presidential rival. Biden, a Democrat, told reporters Friday he would see the governor during the trip, but DeSantis' spokesman Jeremy Redfern said later that no meeting was planned and "the security preparations alone that would go in to setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts." Responding to a question on Saturday...

President Biden promised Saturday to “take care of Florida” as he travelled to the Sunshine State to review the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia — and fended off questions about its governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who has said that he would not accompany a “very disruptive” visit. “I don’t think he’s going to be there,” Biden said of DeSantis as he headed to Air Force One. “We are going to take care of Florida.” Biden laughed when asked if he agreed with DeSantis that “the whole security apparatus”...

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for not meeting with President Biden while he visited the state Friday to survey hurricane damage, calling the decision “absolutely outrageous.” The White House told CNN that a meeting between Biden and DeSantis was planned for Friday, but DeSantis’ office later said no such meeting would occur, citing logistical concerns. “There’s a 1 percent to 2 percent chance it’s logistics. There’s a 98 percent to 99 percent chance it’s the optics,” Kinzinger said in a CNN interview Saturday. “Ron...

Ron DeSantis has proven that he is a very competent governor during this most recent hurricane, and he doesn’t need Joe Biden to show up to take pictures with him. On Friday, Joe Biden announced that he would be going to Florida to tour the area that Hurricane Idalia damaged. Now, he and DeSantis have been in communication (apparently through phone calls) as you would assume the governor of a state and the president would be after a natural disaster. Let’s be honest, though – Biden needs an image boost....

Given President Joe Biden’s history of not rushing to people’s side following a devastating loss, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has made it clear he doesn't want the president's pity after Hurricane Idalia's landfall. DeSantis said he has no plans of meeting with Biden during his trip to the affected areas damaged by the storm. “We don’t have any plans for the governor to meet with the president tomorrow,” DeSantis’ press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, said. “In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go...

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office said Friday that he does not currently plan to meet with President Joe Biden during the latter’s trip down to inspect the damage of Hurricane Idalia, claiming that a meeting would slow recovery efforts, according to The Associated Press. The hurricane made landfall in Florida Wednesday as a Category 3 storm before moving through Georgia and the Carolinas. Biden and the First Lady are set to visit Florida Saturday to meet with residents who have been impacted by the storm. (RELATED: Warnings Issued As...

President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden are traveling to Florida’s Big Bend region early Saturday to survey damage from Hurricane Idalia, but the president won’t be seeing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. A spokesperson for Mr. DeSantis, Florida Republican and 2024 presidential hopeful, said in a statement that setting up such a meeting could disrupt recovery efforts. “We don’t have any plans for the governor to meet with the president,” said Jeremy Redfern, a spokesperson for Mr. DeSantis. “In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has no plans to meet with President Biden on Saturday when the commander in chief visits parts of the state most impacted by Hurricane Idalia. “We don’t have any plans for the governor to meet with the president tomorrow,” DeSantis’ press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, said in a statement on Friday. “In these rural communities, and so soon after impact, the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting would shut down ongoing recovery efforts,” he added. DeSantis, 44, who is vying to...